By The Chronicle staff
A reward for information regarding missing 6-year-old Oakville girl Oakley Carlson has reached $100,000, according to the fund’s organizers.
Oakley, who was 4 years old at the time, was reported missing by a concerned citizen on Dec. 6, 2021.
The case has since been featured on episodes of crime podcasts and TV shows and was most recently featured in the January edition of People Magazine.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Oakley Carlson Reward Fund 501(c)3 charity since it was first established two years ago,” the organization managing the fund, Light the Way Missing Persons Advocacy Project, said in a Facebook post announcing the milestone.
The reward is for credible information that leads to Oakley’s whereabouts or for information that leads to the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance.
The reward fund is managed by Light the Way Missing Persons Advocacy Project and expires Dec. 6, 2024.
In lieu of the reward not being claimed or extended, the funds would then be used at the discretion of Oakley’s foster parents Jamie Jo and Erik Hiles. Examples of possible uses include a funeral service and headstone if necessary, a college fund, a scholarship in Oakley’s name and a trust fund for Oakley’s siblings.
More information on Oakley’s case and opportunities to help with the search effort can be found at https://justiceforoakley.wixsite.com/home.
Anyone with information that could aid law enforcement in their search for Oakley is encouraged to contact the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office 360-249-3711 or sodetectives@graysharbor.us.
TIMELINE OF OAKLEY’S DISAPPEARANCE:
- Nov. 2019: Oakley leaves the care of her foster parents and returns to her biological parents Andrew Carlson and Jordan Bowers, according to King 5 News.
- Feb. 10, 2021: The last time detectives with the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office can confirm Oakley was seen alive by someone other than her biological parents.
- Nov. 6, 2021: A fire was reported at the Carlsons’ residence in Oakville just before 5 p.m. Andrew Carlson told dispatchers his 4-year-old (Oakley’s age at the time) had lit the couch on fire with a cigarette lighter and said he had put the fire out himself. Investigators later determined the fire most likely started in the microwave on the kitchen counter — not from the couch, as Carlson had claimed.
- Nov. 30, 2021: The date Oakley’s parents claim they last saw Oakley.
- Dec. 5, 2021: Oakville Elementary School Principal Jessica Swift contacts the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office with concerns about Oakley’s safety.
- Dec. 6, 2021:
- Approximately 10 a.m.: An officer with the Tumwater Police Department initiates a welfare check for Oakley and interviews Oakley’s parents in their hotel room.
- 3:31 p.m.: An officer confirmed Bowers and Carlson left the hotel with their 2-year-old and returned to their Oakville residence.
- 5:10 p.m.: Bowers is booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for allegedly obstructing an officer and on suspicion of manslaughter.
- 9:30 p.m.: Carlson is booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail on suspicion of manslaughter.
- Dec. 9, 2021: The 72-hour hold on suspicion of manslaughter expires, and the case is closed. Bowers and Carlson remain in custody on unrelated child endangerment charges related to their other child. They were later convicted on those charges.
- Dec. 13, 2021: Detectives complete their search of the Carlson family’s house and surrounding property.
